The present invention relates to gas-gas reactions and more particularly to an improved system for carrying out gas-gas reactions and for controlling the rate thereof. Specifically, the present invention relates to an improved method for controlling the rate of reaction between gaseous reactants in the presence of a liquid medium.
The rate of highly exothermic reactions between reactants in the gas phase is frequently so rapid as to be explosive, while carrying out the same reaction between gaseous reactants in the presence of a liquid, such as an aqueous medium, so reduces the rate of reaction as to make it of no practical value. By use of a Contacogen in accordance with the present invention, the rate of reaction in the presence of the liquid may be increased so that these slow reactions achieve a useful rate, thereby providing a means to avoid the explosive rate while accomplishing the desired reaction. The reaction between gaseous reactants normally carried out in the presence of a liquid, e.g., an aqueous medium, may also be substantially and usefully accelerated by use of a Contacogen in accordance with the present invention.